Almost three years ago, Bridigh Bennett and her family were made homeless when their landlord decided to sell the house they lived in.

Since then, they have not been able to find a permanent place to stay and now face living in a hotel.

Uprooted from their home in Avonmouth, Bridigh, her partner, and their two young boys have had to go between living with elderly and disabled relatives and staying in cramped, damp and mould-riddled temporary housing.

Throughout this they have been desperately bidding for a home on the council’s housing list, a task which has felt impossible given the limited number of properties to accommodate an ever-expanding number of Bristol people in need.

Bridigh says the experience has taken an emotional and physical toll on the family.

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Especially on her children Theo, eight, and three-year-old Sebastian – who was just a baby when they had to leave their home.

Both of the boys been hospitalised with breathing problems in the past three years, believed to have been caused at least partly by mould in their housing. Sebastian now suffers with sleep difficulties.

The family's housing struggle has affected every aspect of their lives, including how well the children are doing at school. But, as just one of many families who are suffering through Bristol's housing crisis, the mum-of-two believes the impact on the city as a whole is immeasurable.

'I just try to block it all out and focus on being a mum'

Bridigh and her partner Courtney Stabb became homeless in the summer of 2016 when their landlord served them with a notice of eviction.

They had been renting their home in Avonmouth long-term but he wanted to sell the house.

Courtney works but the family still did not have enough money for a rental deposit, and they had no way of getting out a loan. Their only option was to move in with Bridigh’s parents, who have ill health.

Such an unsettling time was then made worse when they had to give up their pet cats to Cats Protection.

Years later this part of their story still brings tears to Bridigh's eyes, as she recalls how painful and upsetting the situation was particularly for the boys.

The family lost their home, their pet cats and their stability (Image: James Beck/Freelance)

Unfortunately it was just the beginning of what became a very long and taxing process of struggling to find a home - something they have still not been able to achieve.

“Everything was so difficult from that point onwards,” said Bridigh, who has suffered from severe depression in the years since losing their home.

“I just try to block it all out and focus on being a mum but it can be very, very hard,” she said.

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Moving in with Bridigh’s parents was not meant to be a long-term solution, but they had to move out earlier than expected because of the considerable strain it put on relationships within the family.

Bridigh's parents, who had been married for 35 years, separated while the family were under their roof – a situation Bridigh can't help but blame herself for. "It's still a bit too painful to talk about," she said.

In December Bridigh went to Bristol City Council for help. She said: "I’ve never had to ask for the council's help before but I thought this is exactly the type of situation when the authorities should be there to help people."

The family were given a place to stay, in temporary accommodation in Severn Beach run by Connolly and Callaghan. But they say it was not the respite they had been hoping for.

Bridigh explained: “It was absolutely horrendous. We were put into one room which had a curtain to separate the boys' beds from our own. We only had a bath and we were limited to one bath a night because of the boiler system.

“If I did the washing up I had to wait two hours before we could run a bath, which is very difficult when Courtney was working and he and the boys both needed to be clean and have clean clothes.

“As part of it you also had someone knock on your door every day to check things were okay in the room, which I didn’t mind so much but then the men just started entering as and when they wished.

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“When we weren’t there during the day, I didn’t know who would be in our room. I came home one day to find two men in my bathroom fixing the toilet flush. But I hadn’t been told they were coming and it was really frightening to be honest," she said.

Bridigh claims incidents such as this increased and she says the family also had to deal with the smell of cannabis, as well as the building being visited by police.

Bridigh knows hers is not the only family who is suffering because of the housing crisis (Image: James Beck/Freelance)

One day, she says two workmen walked into their room while Courtney and their youngest son Sebastian were asleep.

"At that point I just lost it, I was on the edge of a breakdown anyway and it had all been building up,” Bridigh said.

Connolly & Callaghan told Bristol Live it has strict rules surrounding staff conduct and drug use and takes any breaches "extremely seriously".

The parents were also extremely worried about the effect mould in the room was having on the children, who later stayed in hospital because of breathing-related problems.

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'Things did not get better, they got worse'

“The mould was bad in the kitchen and it would ruin our food all the time. It’s hard to prove the effects of mould but they were both hospitalised,” Bridigh said.

Not being able to take living there any longer, the family packed up and moved themselves and their belongings back to where their grandmother was still living.

Shortly after they were offered a property on HomeChoice - private accommodation which they could only live in for two years.

The couple's financial situation meant it was not a viable option for them but, being desperate, they had to take it.

“By this time, Courtney had fractured his shoulder, had two operations in one and a half years, and was off work. Because of our situation he has had no choice but to go back to work early,” Bridigh said.

“Although two years sounds like a long time, by this point we were both in financial difficulty and we had entered into debt relief orders. When you’re on one of those no landlord will rent to you, even if you’re earning enough.

Living continuously in temporary housing has had an affect on the mental health of Bridigh, Courtney and the children (Image: James Beck/Freelance)

“It felt like they were setting us up to be in the same position two years down the line and it was heartbreaking,” Bridigh said.

“I appealed the decision but we couldn’t afford to private rent by ourselves so we had to take the only thing the council would give us.

“I was really worried but I thought well two years, things could change for us,” she added.

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She also doesn't know where she will put her dog, which cannot go with them.

The health of the two small boys has become such a concern, one consultant at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children has written to the council's housing department to ask them to move the family to a three-bedroom property so the children can have separate bedrooms.

On band 4, the family have been told it could take 10 years for them to be given a home (Image: James Beck/Freelance)

At the moment, the youngest's health conditions are keeping eldest Theo awake at night and he is now suffering with sleep deprivation.

Despite the doctor's recommendation, HomeChoice has rejected the application replying with: "Sebastian Stabb does not qualify for the provision of an additional bedrooms on health grounds."

Adding their assessment was "not a reviewable decision".

There is now a possibility the family will stay at the house in Lawrence Weston for a further two years but their fate at the end of that period is unknown. And the prospect of being without somewhere stable is a bitter pill to swallow for Bridigh.

“At the end of it all we’ve got no other option, and I don’t know what else to do. People like us we have no voice," said Bridigh.

"It’s extremely stressful especially because I'm watching it affect my children, we’ve been through so much.

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'The instability is crippling us'

“I really don’t like to go against the local authority in this way because I appreciate they do some good work, but I’ve decided to speak out because I’ve been quiet for three years now and we're not getting anywhere.

“What families like mine are being put through is so wrong,” she added.

“Back when I went to the council, we thought we were going to get help. It was our last resort and we thought they are there to help when you’re in dire need.

“But they haven’t helped us. I’m suffering from severe depression and I’ve had a meeting with a housing officer where he said I didn’t look like I had anything wrong with me. That was the same meeting he told me my family were too well put together to ever be offered council housing,” she said.

St Mungo's say they are investigating the issues at the home and are sorry for any distress it has caused (Image: James Beck/Freelance)

"We are craving stability," she said, admitting she thinks it is unlikely they will find that soon.

“I’m not giving up but, the instability is crippling us. Right now I can’t find a way out of it and it’s going to have a detrimental effect on Theo and Sebastian I just know it,” she said.

The family have been told they have been placed on the property band given to those deemed to have the lowest need for housing.

Bridigh was told this means it would take an estimated 10 years to be housed.

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What have the council and housing providers said?

Darren Jones, the MP for Bristol North West, said: "Many constituents contact me regarding the suitability of their housing. It is clear, many families are unsuitably housed and the impact this has on family life and mental health is significant."

Mr Jones, a Labour Party politician, appeared in Westminster in January to support a new law which allows tenants living in shoddy and damp accommodation to take their landlords to court. The law came into affect in February 2019.

"Whilst I accept the council are facing ever-rising demand for their properties, alongside many tenants encountering rising and unaffordable rents in the private sector, I will continue to do all I can, including in this case and in Parliament, to support my constituents in getting the housing they need."

Bristol City Council

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said all temporary accommodation is inspected before the authority starts using it.

They added: “The organisation providing the accommodation has to meet various standards around management and condition of property.

“We take any complaints about temporary accommodation standards seriously and will work with the provider of that accommodation to resolve issues promptly. In this situation all repairs were dealt with promptly.

“Bristol City Council works to move households out of temporary accommodation into something more settled, which includes private rented accommodation like the accommodation provided by Real Lettings as well as social housing. We will always ensure that the accommodation meets the households needs.

“Any issues around the condition of property is between the tenant and the landlord and we understand that St Mungo’s are addressing these issues.’’

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St Mungo's

A spokesperson for St Mungo’s said:“It is always our aim to be a good landlord and offer a safe service to our residents. We are in contact with Ms Bennett and actively investigating the issues she has raised with us, and we recognise that in this case this process has not been smooth.

"We are sorry for any distress this situation has caused to Ms Bennett and her family. We are seeking to resolve this situation and complete repairs as soon as possible."

They added the size of home a family is eligible for under housing benefit is assessed and decided by the council.

Connolly & Callaghan

Connolly & Callaghan said: "We provide emergency accommodation for several hundred people every night in Bristol and the West of England, working with statutory agencies to place homeless families and individuals on a temporary and emergency basis.

"The suitability of accommodation is decided upon by the agency responsible for housing each resident. We don’t comment on specific clients. We have never received a complaint from anyone on that premises about staff not following proper procedures."

"I just won’t stand for it any longer" (Image: James Beck/Freelance)

It claimed there was no fault with the boiler system, explaining a tank-based system meant when the hot water in the tank is used up, it takes time for more hot water to become available.

"We have strict house rules concerning the conduct of staff and drugs on our premises and take any breaches of these rules extremely seriously," they added.

"We aim to provide an extremely good service, and we are proud of the help we offer these vulnerable residents."